As students rush through the hustle and bustle of the semester, a new yoga studio will offer the chance to find some serenity.
Louie LaVie, a 2008 University alumnus, is opening a yoga studio called Mulananda Yoga on West Chimes Street. The store’s grand opening is set for March 3, and LaVie said he hopes to start classes as soon as possible. 
Mulananda, which means “rooted in pure happiness,” is changing the traditional norms for a yoga studio, LaVie said.
During the grand opening, LaVie will offer Swan River yoga, a style unique to the Swan River studio in New Orleans, at 10 a.m. Align and integrate, a style of yoga “designed to help you get deeper into the physical body” through alignment, will be offered with Jen Richards, another instructor, at 11 a.m.
Mulananda will be open the afternoon of the grand opening for guests to ask questions, get to know the teachers and check out the studio. Free food, drinks and drumming entertainment will also be available.
LaVie said customers aren’t required to sign up for any memberships, but eight-day packages are offered for $96, while unlimited monthly packages are available to students for $100 and non-students for $120.
The student rate for one class is $10 with a University ID and $14 for non-students.
LaVie said his yoga studio will offer both private and group classes taught by a diverse group of teachers who are certified in different styles of yoga.
“Students can find the style they like,” LaVie said.
Along with yoga classes, LaVie, who is also certified in Thai massage therapy, will offer 70-minute massages for $70 and is in the process of hiring two traditional message therapists.
LaVie said he also may sell T-shirts and yoga attire at the studio.
“There may be some yoga clothes, but nothing too expensive,” he said.
Contractors are still working on the building’s last improvements, LaVie said. Aesthetic enhancements, like painting, tiling and sanding the floors, are already complete.
“We also ripped out both bathrooms,” he said. “It’s going to look pretty brand new in there.”
LaVie said he hopes students comprise a large portion of his customers, but nearby community members are also welcome.
“I’m just very excited that the location is so close to campus,” he said.
LaVie began practicing yoga shortly after graduation.
“College can be stressful,” he said. “I wish I would have found yoga before I graduated.”
Following graduation, LaVie accepted a job working as a grief counselor for a hospice company in Baton Rouge and then took a promotion and moved back to his hometown of New Orleans. He found his job emotionally difficult, and each day he felt stressed and emotionally drained.  
He began attending yoga classes at Swan River in New Orleans and found that the exercise was more than just a workout.
“It’s a stress release,” he said. “I had a feeling of peace and balance after, something I had never found with anything else in my life before.”
LaVie said he didn’t initially know what to expect from yoga, but after reading about its benefits and experiencing its healing power, he knew he wanted to focus more of his time on the art.
“I finally said, ‘I can’t do this any longer.’ I loved yoga so much that I knew I wanted to take up a teaching certification,” he said.
LaVie said he hopes yoga will impact his customers as they share an experience together.
“Over the years of practicing, it’s become clearer to me that it is more than just a workout,” he said. “I want to spend the rest of my life sharing this with other people and sharing what has positively impacted and changed my life with others.”
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]